Municipal Solid Waste Management Using an Inclusive Technological Platform

Introduction

The environmental impact caused by human activities is a topic of enormous relevance today and directly related to development issues. The contemporary environmental problem is the direct result of the capitalist form of development that emerged from the industrial revolution (Sorin & Choomta, 2015). The production and demand generated by this system have created pressure on the ability of the environment to supply the system with raw materials, as well as to absorb the waste from production and consumption. Furthermore, the revolution in communications has provided for increased production volume, trade, and consumption (Florea & Duica, 2017; Xing, 2018).

Today's globalized and technologically evolved society is paradoxical because the benefits of this prosperity have not been shared equally among all actors involved in this process. Studies carried out by Aldeia & Alves (2019), Arora (2018), and Jarman (2016) reveal that income inequalities remain significant, biodiversity is being heavily impacted, and natural resources are being severely depleted. This evidence shows that the economic development processes implemented over the last century have generated high social costs. Moreover, governments have not been able to ensure the equitable distribution of this generated income or a tangible improvement in welfare indices.

Continuous urban growth has proven incompatible with an environment where resources are limited, with a focus on the capacity to absorb and recycle waste. Added to this scenario, the increase in consumption observed in the development of human society, which makes waste generation more complex for the environment (Abdel-Shafy & Mansour, 2018). Furthermore, the studies conducted by Adyel (2020) and Silva et al. (2021) report an increase in plastic waste motivated by the pandemic of COVID-19. Today's technologically advanced society has contributed, consciously or unconsciously, to change the natural environment. To meet daily needs, human activities have generated all kinds of pollution related to air, water, and land. Several studies highlight municipal solid waste as one of the issues with the greatest environmental impact (Banerjee & Sarkhel, 2020; Gonçalves et al., 2018; Joshi & Ahmed, 2016).

The Sustainable Development Goals introduced by the United Nations in 2015 have been a key benchmark to provide sustainability targets and indicators on a global scale. As Lenkiewicz (2016) demonstrates, waste management contributes decisively to the 17 sustainable development goals such as good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, among others.

In large urban centers, the generation of municipal solid waste shows a higher rate than the population growth, leading to a progressive increase in the need for investments in the sector. The challenge for the authorities responsible for solid waste management is to achieve planning to balance economic and environmental aspirations. However, this is a challenge that cannot be met by governments alone. Each person assumes a determining role in changing consumption habits and managing his/her own waste.